Loadsamoney, Stavros, Kevin and Perry and a King Charles entrance: reviewer Jonathan Marshall finds the comedy legend’s first solo show holds the arena for close to two hours and leaves it wanting more. The tour runs until the end of November.
Swansea basks in laughter as comedy legend Harry Enfield comes to the arena.
It is Enfield’s solo show, hence the lack of chums. Of course, it isn’t long before he slips into some of his best-known characters, though, and there are a lot of them!
The evening is akin to a greatest hits album, catering to all eras of Enfield’s comedy. Along the way he regales us with stories about how certain sketches came to light, as well as discussing his background and career in general.
His relationships with chums Kathy Burke and Paul Whitehouse are of course discussed with Enfield’s trademark humour. He delves into life as stepfather to Lily and Alfie Allen and reminisces about growing up in the punk era, which suited his rebellious nature perfectly.
None of this is ever self-indulgent, however, with Enfield placing emphasis on the characters he is known for, rather than himself. He effortlessly commands the expansive space, holding our attention for close to two hours, including interval, and by the end we (and possibly he) are still left wanting more.
It’s a well-structured show, which mostly sticks to a chronological timeline with audience questions at the end.
The fact that the audience consists of an array of ages is testament to Enfield’s longevity and lasting power in the business. Some see him as King Charles in comedy series The Windsors (and this is how he arrives on stage, immediately garnering laughs with his spot-on imitation of voice and body language).
Others have fond memories of Kevin and Perry, Tim Nice-but-Dim, Loadsamoney and Stavros. The list goes on and tonight we get to spend our time with them in a live setting, which makes for a wonderful, unique experience.
It’s hard not to marvel at how Enfield can capture a whole persona in seemingly simple ways. Even the way he carries himself can tell us a great deal about whoever he is portraying before we get into the sketch.
An astute observer of people, like all comedy greats he is also able to provide social commentary on the times. At 65, and with the world as it currently is, there is no doubt he has plenty more material in him.
His pleasure at being here in our company is mirrored back to him as the evening draws to a close.
Harry Enfield and No Chums was at Swansea Building Society Arena on Monday 12 October. The tour continues across Britain and Ireland until the end of November, with tickets at fane.co.uk.
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